Case study: Texas school district deploys ERP to handle students

An independent school district in Texas with a swelling student population has contracted with Prologic Technology Systems of Austin to implement its education ERP system.

One of the fastest-growing school systems in the state, Magnolia Independent School District is located in Montgomery County, about 40 miles northwest of Houston. The district has more than tripled from some 4,000 students in 1994 to 13,000 in 2016. In response, between 2000 and 2008 it added eight new campuses to its original six schools.

That kind of growth has been tough without a comprehensive, unified ERP system, administrators say.

Hence, the district’s decision to bring on Prologic, which created its Total Education Administrative Management Solution, or TEAMS, enterprise resource planning system, to unify finance, human resources and student management networks within K-12 school districts.

“TEAMS is an all-in-one school management system that will give us efficiencies in all areas of operations, from automating complex human resources processes, to building district budgets and managing student information,” says Magnolia ISD Superintendent Todd Stephens. “We are excited to partner with TEAMS as they offered us the best complete solution that meets the goals of our district.”

Prologic, which has focused exclusively since 1992 on software for the K-12 education market, notes that it developed its ERP system to eliminate the need for integration with third-party applications while it streamlines and automates core processes.

Because the system is based entirely on the web, users experience the same interface and functionality via a web browser whether they’re on-site or working remotely. A mobile app also lets parents and teachers stay connected to attendance, grades and other day-to-day issues. Its single, cohesive database provides real-time data and reporting and enables simplified collaboration among teachers, students, administrators and parents.

“I am excited about transitioning to a system that will more adequately meet our needs as a growing organization,” says Erich Morris, Magnolia’s assistant superintendent of operations. “We wanted a system that was fully automated and intuitive that allows us to quickly export data for state and local reporting purposes.”

Key Takeaways:

• Rapid growth makes a comprehensive ERP system essential, rather than a “nice-to-have.”

• Building everything into one system means no complicated third-party application integrations.

• A broad audience of users from parents and students to teachers and administrators get the same ERP interface through a web browser and mobile app.